


truth is, I got lost without you

by bradfordbuttfuck



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: 2014 Winter Olympics, Falling In Love, Figure Skater! Niall, Fluff, Half a Heart based, Ice Hockey player! Zayn, M/M, Mild Smut, i have no knowledge of either sport, i only know a bit i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-25
Updated: 2014-03-25
Packaged: 2018-01-17 00:24:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1367155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bradfordbuttfuck/pseuds/bradfordbuttfuck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once together, it's difficult being apart.</p><p>Or the one where Zayn and Niall meet at the Sochi Winter Olympics and they fall for each other really quickly but some people want to break them apart, but they don't let them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	truth is, I got lost without you

**Author's Note:**

> mixed up prompts, hope that's okay :)
> 
> also on tumblr – bradfordbuttfuck, most of my oneshots are on there anyway.

They met at the opening ceremony. 

It's cute because, well, there's stuff everywhere. Confetti falling all over them, so many people from different countries, doing different events and they somehow manage to catch each other's eyes.  

Zayn sees _him_ first.

The boy's wandering through the large crowds of people and grinning wide. His small frame wrapped up in a big, green coat with matching pants and shoes along with his cute green beanie that looks a bit too big for his head. 

Zayn forgets how to breathe for a few seconds because everything seemed to slow down, his heart pounding in his ears as he makes brief eye contact with the beautiful blond. 

They smile at each other, and then that's it. 

Zayn's snapped back to reality by an arm thrown over his shoulder. Liam patting his cheek and saying something to him but he couldn't hear. He was a bit overwhelmed.

—

They meet again at Zayn's first match. It's the 12th of February and instead of practising with his coach, Niall sneaks off to the Ice Hockey game. 

He should be nervous because his first performance is tomorrow, but he finds great comfort from where he's sitting. _The pairs figure skating finishes today_ , Niall thinks. Then its the individuals short programme tomorrow, aka, him. 

He tries not to think about it, tries to watch the players glide on the ice and – _**SLAM!**_

"Oh my god." He mutters, seeing a player from Great Britain get crushed against the wall. He winces as it happens again, uniform and hockey stick clanging against the border surrounding the rink, Niall bites his lip. He was glad that since he was competing in the olympics, he got some good seats. Front row, as well. 

The player leans his head against the plastic and breathes, Niall unable to see who it was but he feels kind of bad. If he did Ice Hockey, he's sure that his spine would break or even worse. His _everything_ would break. 

The game stops for a second because the player seems to be tired, and his coach rounds the corner, shouting at him. Niall frowns. 

—

"C'mon Malik! Get the fuck out there!" Zayn knows that his coach didn't mean to be so harsh, it was the competitiveness flaring inside him again, it happens all the time. He pants against the fogging glass, takes out his mouthguard and winces when he tastes blood on his lip, must be cut from his helmet. "Do you want me to bench you?" Zayn's head snaps up, shakes his head quickly. "No, sir! I can do it." He says, but his body disagrees. His ribs are stinging and he feels like his spine is broken. 

Coach nods, "Get in there, lad." 

Zayn bobs his head back and he's about to push back from the glass when he catches sight of blue irises, watching him curiously. He takes deep breaths and stands upstraight, bones cracking, but he's fine. "You okay?" The blond mouths to him, Zayn nods his head, a smile at his lips before placing the mouthguard back in and gliding backwards, he hears a whistle and his coach in the back screaming, "He's fine, he's back in!" 

He's then blinded by the crowd roaring into cheers, his teammates patting him on the back as a silent form of encouragement. Zayn's done it before, and the whole team knows that it meant _keep going._

 

They win.

Zayn scores the last few seconds before his whole team is cheering his name. His coach is smiling so wide and Zayn's body ignites with pride, relief and happiness.  Even more so when he's met with a familiar face outside the locker rooms. 

—

_Why am I doing this, what the fuck is wrong with me, oh my god this is so fucking embarrassing._

Niall's sitting on the bench reevaluating his life and constantly asking himself _why am I here?_ Maybe I should turn back?

_No, you shouldn't, because you wanna see him._

No, I don't.

 _Yes, you do_.

 

Niall's having an internal war and when he sees the team leaving the locker rooms, he realises that there was no turning back now. Well, he could just run away. 

Niall's face heats up because that would be even more humiliating. 

 

He sees the tan boy exiting the room with a large duffle bag over his shoulder and Niall can see his hair and his face. 

Jesus christ, his face is _immaculate_.

 

 

"Hello," it sounded so quiet in Niall's ears that he's wondering how the beautiful stranger even heard him. "Oh, hey."  A few more teammates file out of the room and Niall's cheeks flush even more when three of the players slap the taller lad on the back, wolf whistling. The blond's ears perk up when coach passes by with a proud smile, a name just as beautiful as it's owner slipping out of his lips. "Congrats on the shot today, Zayn."

"Thanks, coach." He smiles before turning back to Niall, the man disappearing off around the corner. 

"Hi." Niall says again and fuck, what is he supposed to say? "Yes, we've said our hello's already." He – _Zayn_  – chuckles. 

"I just wanted to see you.." He breathes out before realising how it sounded. "To say congratulations!" He quickly says afterwards. 

"Well, thank you." He takes a shy step forward hesitantly. He looks uncertain, Niall notices. "And for asking if I was okay." 

Niall swears he sees a blush on Zayn's face, which gives him a small boost of confidence. "It's no biggie, um, you were pretty wicked out there." He says and he doesn't know where to put his hands. 

"Thanks." Niall's heart stutters when the darker boy wets his lips. The blond feels like he's annoying him somehow, and he suddenly feels anxious. He looks up at him and his throat goes dry, Zayn's intense stare burning his skin and what makes Niall's insides bubble was the small fond smile curling at the edges of his lips. 

"Sorry if you have somewhere to be." The blond mutters. "You're probably really busy, just wanted to –"

"I don't. I'm not, actually. I was just gonna go head back to the village and take a nap, but.. if you want, we could.." His voice fades just the slightest so he straightens his back and clears his throat. "Hang out, maybe? If you want." 

Niall grins wide, cheeks a pretty, pale pink and his lips a lovely shade of red. "I'd love to." The darker boy returns it with a matching blush. He extends his hand out. "Zayn Malik; Ice hockey, right wing."  

"Niall Horan; individual figure skating." He accepts the hand, despite the coldness surrounding them, Zayn's hand was warm and inviting. 

"Ah, male's figure skating?" Niall laughs and rolls his eyes. "No, female's." The darker boy chuckles with him and gives Niall's hand a gentle squeeze. "Hope not, wouldn't be interested if you were the opposite gender." Niall's eyes widened before they narrow and gives Zayn's hand a firmer squeeze. "Is that so?"

"Mhm, and isn't that event tomorrow?" The blond nods, their hands not letting go of each other and neither want to. "Are you any good?" It wasn't meant to offend him in any way, in fact, Niall took it as a challenge. "You'll see tomorrow, won't you?"

Zayn smirks, quickly lets go of Niall's hand and grabs his wrist, fiercely pulling him so their faces were close together. "Or you can show me tonight." Niall blinks at him bemusedly before Zayn lets go of his wrist and brushes his fringe back, his tan skin contrasting to Niall's blond locks. "There's an ice rink back at the olympic village, at midnight, it's gonna be empty. Do you wanna meet up?"

"Why not do that now?"

"Because people will be practising." Niall thinks for a moment and realises how right he is, people normally practise during the morning and the day. Never during the night because sleep is just as important as perfecting their routine. "But my performance is tomorrow, I need rest.. – _shit_ , my coach!" 

Niall takes his phone out of his pocket and looks at the screen. 

**Texts from: _Aedan_ (25)**

**Missed calls: _Aedan_ (14)**

Niall looks up at Zayn. "Oops." 

"Just tell him you were sleeping, please. He'll understand, right?" Niall nods unsurely and sends him a text, informing him of his disappearance all the while hoping his coach didn't check his room. He sighs in relief when he gets a text back straight away, saying that it was okay and that he should continue, that Niall deserves sleep after training heavily the day before. 

"I guess that means I can go tonight." Zayn does a little whispered "yes!" before smiling down at him. 

"Won't it be locked?"

Zayn smirks, winking as he pats Niall's head. "Don't worry about that, I'll sort it out. Bring your skates. You can rest until then." Niall sighs, looks around and realises that the halls were empty, apart from the loud roaring of paparazzi outside, where Zayn's teammates were probably being held back for a short interview. 

"You should probably go." Niall says. The older sighs and nods, they walk towards the door together and the sounds of cameras flood the halls, Zayn squinting as he exits and was immediately met with a mic under his mouth. 

"Zayn, how do you feel?"

"Are you nervous for the next game?"

"What happened back at the rink?"

 

Zayn quickly answers a few questions, thoughts running wild that he doesn't know where Niall's disappeared off to. He feels a presence to his side but he doesn't pay attention to it much, too busy coming up with an answer. 

He gapes when he feels a kiss press to his cheek and the figure disappears around him, Zayn stuttering on his words as he turns around and sees Niall smiling and answering a question about the game. The British representative suddenly forgets how to speak but then regains focus when the lady bumps his chin with her mic. 

He smiles fondly for the rest of the day.

—

Niall plops down onto his bed and sighs, nearly knocking the Irish flag that was hanging off his bedpost off.  He shares his room with a friend of his, Harry, who was also a male figure skater, representing Britain. Niall wasn't really that competitive, but he's seen Harry skate and the lad is really good but the blond's sure he's better.  Well, he hopes. 

Speaking of Harry, the curly haired lad struts in, his hair a mess and his cheeks puffed out as he pants, skates in his hand. "Hey, Nialler." He breathes heavily.

"Hello." He says, but he sounds just as breathless as Harry even though he hasn't done anything physically exerting. Maybe that's the side effect of being with Zayn.  Harry sprawls his lanky body over the bed and groans weakly. Niall chuckles, "Rough day?"

"It feels like I've been doing the same thing for years."

Niall furrows his brows at that and laughs out loud. "Harry, you have. Started pro-skating at sixteen, right?" The brunet huffs a laugh. "Aw yeah.." He turns his head to the side and sees the blond staring at the ceiling deep in thought.

"What you thinkin' about?" Niall shrugs, he's pretty sure he's smiling the biggest smile right now. "No, it's just.. do you know anything about Zayn Malik?"

"We're representing the same country, I was with him at the opening ceremony, I'm pretty sure I do." The blond crinkles his nose shyly before turning his head and staring at Harry. "What's he like?" Harry sits up at that and eyes Niall carefully. Niall sits up as well. "W-What."

"You went to his game today, didn't you?" Blue eyes widen and his mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water. "You met him! And you talked, and you think he's cute." All Niall was thinking was _how the fuck does Harry know all of that just by looking at him?_ "Y-Yeah, I have, I do. I'm actually gonna see him tonight." As soon as he said this, Harry frowns. _Uh-oh._

"Niall your performance is tomorrow, you need some slee–"

"I know, Harry, I know. I'm sleeping until then, so." He climbs under the covers and sets an alarm on his phone. "Goodnight, Haz."

—

It's dark, it's only eleven but it's nearing midnight and Zayn's sitting at the benches, staring at his lap nervously. 

Maybe he was a bit too forward? They did only just met, but Niall kept blushing. That's a good thing right? Zayn bites his lip. What if Niall doesn't actually like him? He grips at the hair on his head and groans, what if he wasn't even gay? God, that'd be embarrassing. 

Zayn's just about to leave until the door clicks open and his head swings round. 

"Zayn?" A quiet voice whispers out. "Helloo?" He pouts a little at the darkness, only a few lights on in the area but creeps forward, the darker boy smirking as an idea comes to mind. "Zaaaaayn." Niall says, cheeks flushed because nobody's answering, what if he's already – "BOO!" 

Niall squeaks and he stumbles back, skates causing his knees to wobble slightly and his hands fly out to balance himself, Zayn grabbing him by the waist from behind before he fell on his arse.

Niall evens his breathing, but his heartbeat remained rapid. His back pressed against Zayn's chest, warm breath ghosting over his ear. " _Well_ , that was a beautiful fall."

"Why would you scare me like that! Jesus christ.." Niall stands back up and turns on his heel. He looks up at the older boy with a playful glare, Zayn laughs at him. His nose crinkles and his eyes squint and its probably the prettiest sound Niall's ever heard. "I was expecting an extravagant twirl in the air. I'm very disappointed, Mr. Horan."

Niall snorts, rolls his eyes. "You mean an axel jump? And I'm not on the ice yet, you can't be disappointed now." He pats Zayn's stubbly cheek with a chuckle. 

"No, I'm disappointed that you didn't arrive in that tight, _tight_  uniform of yours." He winks, rounding him before walking towards the ice. 

"That dirty bastard.." Niall shakes his head, ambles towards him and grips the lads shoulders right before he takes his first step. "You'll get to see me in that tomorrow won't you?" He whispers in his ear. 

The blond grins before finally letting his skates touch the cold surface, it's probably because he's near the ice, that's why he's so confident. The last time they spoke, they were in the locker rooms. "Are you gonna show me that jump of yours?" Niall looks over his shoulder and nods, shrugs his shoulders when he looks at his joggers. "Don't think I can do much in these." He giggles before looking over at Zayn. "Prepare to catch me."

Zayn slides towards him, ankles facing Niall as he came to a halt. "I did earlier didn't I? C'mon, angelface, show me what you can do." Niall stares at him for a few seconds and the intense eye contact has Zayn blushing. Niall bites his lip, "You've got me nervous now. But okay," 

He skates past him, gaining speed as he rounds the centre of the rink before he jumps into the air, his body twirling 180 degrees before he lands perfectly on his feet, gliding backwards. 

"Wow," his jaw is dropped and his eyes are wide but Niall held the opposite emotion as he skated back; disappointment. "Don't wow. My feet weren't in the right position when I landed." Zayn frowns. "Don't say that, it was perfect."

"No, it wasn't. How am I gonna perform tomorrow if I can't even do a stupid jump?" He mutters to himself but Zayn just wraps his fingers around his wrist. "Hey, don't say that." Niall stays silent, "I can't even do a bunny hop on ice never mind a fuckin' axel whatever, anyway, point is –" Niall giggles. "– you're not supposed to think about tomorrow. We're here to have fun, alright?" The blond bites his lip as Zayn continues.

"You're nervous, I'm nervous, lets not dwell on negative thoughts, okay? Just think of it like this," he doesn't know when Niall decided to rest his head on his shoulder, but he likes it, runs his hands through Niall's hair with a fond smile. "You're skating at the rink back home, in Ireland, no competitions, no winter olympics. Just you and me, yeah?" Silence. 

Before Niall tilts his head up. "I didn't know you were Irish." He starts laughing out loud, a boisterous cackle that echoes loudly throughout the whole area.

Zayn groans, "That's not what I meant."

—

By the end of the night, they're rolling around the ice on top of each other giggling, it's one in the morning and neither are tired. But Zayn knew how important sleep was, so he picked Niall up from the cold ice, "As much fun as I've had tonight, you have to go rest." Niall's smile falters just the slightest, "I doubt I could." He wraps his arms around Zayn's torso and squeezes tightly. "Thank you, this was a good first date, Zayn."

The older freezes, Niall can hear his heart beat accelerate and pound against his ribs. "Th-This was a date?"

"Oh please, Malik. I knew this was a date as soon as you wanted me to 'teach you'." Niall rolls his eyes. Zayn lights up the room as soon as he smiles and his hands trail up the sides of Niall's arms and they stop as they curl around the back of Niall's neck. The blond's eyes widen as Zayn's eyes flutter closed, he's leaning in closer and Niall's not sure if he should pull away. He's taken by surprise when Zayn places a soft peck on the corner of his lips. "Had to pay you back." He smiles shyly. "For that kiss you gave me during the interview."

Niall's gaze lands on his skates. "Oh," He swallows thickly. "Yeah, I dunno why I did that."

"Are you saying you regret it?" Niall shook his head, "I just.. don't know what came over me." He yawns and nuzzles his nose affectionately against Zayn's neck. 

The older sighs. "I think it's time for you to go to bed, sunshine."

"I think so, too." He pulls back halfway but he leans in close again, kisses the tip of Zayn's nose. "Goodnight." He skates away and Zayn's left with buckling knees on the ice, he waves once more before the door slams shut. Zayn sighs. "Yeah, it _was_ a good night."

—

When Niall finishes his morning jog, he gets a text from his coach telling him to go straight to the ice rink. After he gets changed, he jogs towards the ice rink and electric blue meet a liquid gold as soon as the door opens. "Z-Zayn?" 

"Niall," he acknowledges, pushing himself off from the barrier and he's breath hitches when he sees what Niall's wearing. Tight figure skating pants that show off the roundness of Niall's ass, his muscles straining from the forest green nylon jacket he was wearing. 

"So you know each other?" His coach says, turning towards him. 

Niall's eyes move back and fourth between the two, who seemed to be having a conversation before Niall arrived. He removes the earphones from his ears and stands awkwardly, skates digging into the rubber placed on the floor. "Um, yeah. We met yesterday."

"I thought you were resting." Niall's eyes widened. _Shit._  

But just like yesterday, Zayn's there to save him. "Niall's roommate is a British rep as well, I went to his room to talk to him but Niall told me that he was practising.. we talked after that."

Brown eyebrows raise high on his head, " _Just_ talked?" 

Niall feels his temperature shoot up. "Aedan!" He was 29, brown hair with brown eyes to match, along with an annoying personality. "What? Did you know that every olympic village supplies 150,000 condoms all together? Sexual intercourse is common in the olympics, it's used as a form of relief and relaxation." Niall gapes. Zayn gapes. Wow. "I wouldn't be surprised if you guys did though, Niall wasn't answering my calls or texts."

" _Aedan_ ," Niall grits his teeth, "Let's start practice now. Please." 

"Okay then." He smirks. Niall likes him, really. It's just the fact that he acts like an older brother, it's so annoying. He's like Greg back home. 

"I've got the rink booked for at least two hours." Aedan says before he gets on the ice and starts skating around the rink freely while Niall bends down to place his things on the bench on the side, he turns and sees Zayn still there. "Are you staying?" 

Zayn's brought out of his thoughts of Niall's cute butt and he looks up with a questioning hum. The blond looks at him amusedly, bites back a cackle. "I was asking you if you were staying for practice," He snaps his fingers in front of his ass when he sees the darker boy's eyes trail back down there. "But that pretty much answers the question."

—

 **ROMANCE IN RUSSIA**  

_British Ice Hockey player, Zayn Malik, and Irish representative, Niall Horan are causing quite the uproar back at Sochi! Niall Horan (Men's Individuals Figure Skating) was seen sitting by the benches at the Ice Hockey game where Great Britain played against Sweden. When Horan was spotted near the locker rooms with Zayn Malik, we all took it as a sign of friendly banter, but it was then proven later that that was not the case! Malik was answering questions, after being the last one out, before Niall quietly intruded the interview with a soft kiss to the british player's cheek._

_But the romance doesn't stop there! Malik was seen today with Horan, cheering him on as he practiced with his coach. "Zayn was very supportive of Niall on the ice rink," Our insider stated. "He carried him towards the seats every time Niall fell down, even though he was totally fine. There's definitely something going on between them." Seems like there's more than rivalry brewing back at Russia, a possible relationship might have just grown!_

—

Niall jumps and down on his skates, excited but nervous. He's planning for at least a 40 or something because he's always been a klutz, there's no doubt in his mind that he'll receive a deduction from falling.  

He's soon announced and there's a mild roar and he grins a little before finally stepping onto the ice. He sighs happily, a grin on his face as he glides towards the centre, arms spread out with a smile before turning around and smiling to the other side. He's met with loud claps and it makes his stomach flip as soon as he assumes the starting position. 

He hears the music starting and he breathes out in attempt to relax himself. "Here we go."

—

Zayn was watching from behind the barrier, his lip caught between his teeth as he watches Niall do his routine. He winces every time Niall leans to the side, Zayn's arms stretching out and wanting to run and catch him because earlier today, he learnt something new about himself.  

He has a reflex. 

Every time Niall fell, he ran towards him. But right now, Zayn can't. He can only hope. 

Aedan's by his side, muttering Niall's next move and Zayn's been with him the whole day he's memorised it. 

"Camel spin." Zayn whispers, Niall leaning forward, one foot stretched out as he span in circle. Niall does his little dance before he rounds the sides, picking up speed and Zayn wets his lips. He knows what's coming next. 

"Uh-oh," Aedan whispers and Zayn sighs, rubs his hand down his face. "Double lutz." Niall said he failed on the axel jump before but now he has to do two in a row and Zayn leans on the barrier with a determined face. He watches as Niall thrusts his leg up in the air, rotating a full 360 degrees before landing and then repeating. Zayn holds his breath as he goes for his second jump, he spins and lands on the backward outside edge of the other skate. 

Zayn's breath flows out of him and he's sweating, despite the cold air flowing inside. "Don't look so relieved, there's still two more minutes of this dance." Aedan sighs, Zayn gulps as he looks back at the skater worriedly. 

He has faith in Niall, but there was one move he kept having trouble with that was near the end. He's not gonna worry about that now though. 

"Ina Bauer, c'mon Ni." Aedan whispers, Zayn's seen this one and he knows that this was quite easy for Niall. His right foot angled sidewards and his right leg bent while the other was stretched and pointed horizantally, blades just skimming the glass as he bent his head back. 

It's done well and Zayn begins to think that figure skating is way scarier than ice hockey. He's not worried about the dancing though, Niall's got the ice dancing in the bag. He laughs a little because Niall's genuinely enjoying himself, a big smile on his face as he does a small jig. He twists and turns and Zayn feels his heart slow down. 

"Charlotte spiral." Aedan groans, Niall hates spinning. But he says he also loves it because he likes the way it feels in his hair (Zayn smiles fondly). 

Niall slows down and begins to spin, his leg stretched out and his body bent forward. "Three.. two, one." Niall stops as soon as Aedan stops counting and circles the rink once more, his hips moving in a way that has Zayn's groin tingling. 

Niall's wearing light blue pants (tight pants, Zayn notes), along with a sparkly sapphire top that was just as tight, which Zayn grins at. He likes the way Niall's clothes twinkle when he does a pancake spin and a slightly wobbly axel jump but at least he didn't fall, his foot positioning wasn't very precise. Zayn's quite impressed by how much he knows but he's immediately snapped out of his thoughts at the visible frown on Niall's face as he skates closer towards their side of the rink. "Here he comes." Aedan says. 

A double lutz into a spread eagle. It sounds difficult but it isn't really, or maybe Aedan just makes it look really easy. The reason why Niall fell numerous times was because every time he finished spinning, his body wasn't properly align. And the spread eagle was to lean back the farthest you can, and Niall kept falling on his bum or back, even worse, his head. 

 

It's the same feeling as when they first saw each other, everything slows down and all Zayn could heard was the pounding in his chest. 

The blond jumps, twirls in the air and lands perfectly, everyone stays silent but then they cheer when he does it again. "That was perfectly executed." Aedan comments breathlessly but Zayn refuses to say another word until Niall finishes that move. 

His toes are stretched outwards and his legs are spread wide, arms parallel to his thighs. He leans back and Aedan curses. "Fuck." 

As soon as the words slips from his mouth, Niall's back hits the ice, head hitting the cold surface as the crowd gasps. Zayn jumps up. "Niall!" He shouts, voice echoing loudly and Aedan had to pull him back, "Relax, Malik, he's fine." 

Zayn steps back into his hold and watches as Niall gets back up, gliding back into the beat of the music. 

"See?" Zayn ignores him, instead he pays attention to the strong warmth in the pit of his stomach as Niall continues to smile, even though it didn't reach his eyes. Zayn stares as Niall does his finishing moves before stopping in the centre, head tilted towards the ceiling and his eyes bright blue.

 

The darker boy sighs, looks on and discovers he bears a strong feeling of admiration towards him, adores how Niall can go through all that training and all that pressure. He definitely feels something for the lad. 

Niall finishes off with a twizzle before skating back. Zayn grins. 

 

Flowers are thrown onto the ice rink and so are some teddy bears and Niall smiles greatfully, waving at the crowd before sliding back towards his coach. The smile on his face leaves as he puts on the covers on his blades, pouting and feeling disappointed. "The rest was brilliant, Niall, don't worry. Your jumps were perfect." He hears Aedan say, but it doesn't do much to his self esteem.  

What _does_ put a smile back on his face was the flowers and teddy bear given to him as soon as he stood back up. He looks up and sees beautiful hazel eyes, a bright grin shining with pride. Niall doesn't even give a fuck if the camera's are pointed at them, he fucking basks in the glow of Zayn's presence. Zayn wraps an arm around his shoulders and kisses his temple before letting Niall go with Aedan towards the 'Kiss and Cry'. 

Niall slides on his jacket and takes a seat with Aedan, both their attention on the large score board on the high ceiling. Aedan nudges, gestures towards the camera and Niall grins a large smile, a small roar of cheers are heard before his name's called out. 

"Representing Ireland," Silence. Then, "Niall Horan receives 79.59, this is his season's best." 

Niall smiles tightly, and then, "He is now placed in 6th place." He grins widely at that, that isn't so bad. He had a -1.00 deduction from the fall but he expected that, that was way more than he expected. 

He looks to the side, and sees Aedan's proud grin on his face despite the fall, "You did really well, Niall. You should be happy!" Niall nods. "I am, I am. Just a little disappointed is all." 

His head turns to the right and sees Zayn with his arms crossed over his chest, cheeks pink as he looks at the blond with great adoration. Niall's pretty much glowing with the same emotion. The darker boy winks at him, puckers his lips in a small kiss. Niall laughs, "Mwah!" He winks back. 

Aedan snaps his fingers. "Oi, quit it you two, we're on tv." 

—

By the end of the night, Niall was only bumped down to 7th place by a lad from America but he doesn't mind much, he enjoyed himself tonight and being with Zayn made it all better. 

It was only when they were walking out of the locker rooms and he overheard some people talking that he realised. Niall turned to him, slapping his shoulder as he jumped up and down. "Zayn, ice hockey game!" He yells. 

Zayn jumps at his loud voice and yelps, he breathes out and relaxes after and looks at Niall confused. "What?"

"The Ice Hockey game! Isn't it today?"  Zayn breathes out a chuckle and shakes his head, "Nope, today's' the women's group B and men's group A and B, but I'm in group C, and that is tomorrow." Niall frowns. "Free skating's tomorrow as well." 

It takes Zayn a while to realise before his face falls, brows furrowing and the edges of his lips tilting down. "We won't see each other." It's dark as they stroll down the path, the snow freezing them but they don't mind because they keep each other warm.

"Hey," Niall brushes their gloved hands gently. "We still have the rest of tonight, right?" Zayn puffs his cheeks out, shrugging carelessly. "Yeah, guess so."

Niall bites his lips and confidently intertwines their fingers together. Zayn looks down at their hands with a mouth in the shape of an 'o'. His eyes drift up and he's met with a shy smile. "How's about a second date?"

—

So it turns out, their second date was cuddling by the fire in Zayn's team house, Zayn was a little hesitant but Niall assured him it was okay. And luckily, it seemed the rest of the house was asleep. Zayn creeped in, Niall's hand in his as they giggled quietly, shuffling over to the sofa and plopping down on the love seat and letting Niall seat himself beside him.

Niall chuckles, leans his head on Zayn's shoulder and sighs. "See? We're alone."

"For now." Niall groans. "Stop being so negative and enjoy the time we have now. C'mon, Zayn." He pokes the boy's ribs, making him squirm. "Don't be a downer." 

A deep sigh is released into the air. "Okay then. Let's get to know each other," Niall grins, "That sounds great."

"Yeah, umm.. do you ever get scared of hurting yourself on the ice? Like, you might crack your skull or summit." Niall laughs into his neck, "That's such a positive thing to say to somebody who's skating tomorrow."

"Oops." Zayn feels blood rush to his cheeks and it's definitely _not_ because of the warmth from the fire. "Sorry,"

"It's fine. And yeah, all the time. But what about you? Don't you get scared of breaking that pretty face of yours?" 

Zayn smirks, angles his face down towards Niall's. "You think I'm pretty?"

"Oh yeah. Handsomest lad I've ever seen, not gonna lie." Niall rubs their noses together, Zayn's smile wide and crinkly. "I'm blushing." His heart swells with joy. 

"I'm serious, have you looked in the mirror? Jesus, you're gorgeous!" 

"Well, have you looked in the mirror?" Niall raises a brow. "You have the most beautifulest eyes ever." The blond stares at the fire, fighting back a smile but it's a fruitless attempt because he already is, dimples prominent and Zayn sighs dreamily, there's always something new to admire about Niall. Right now, it's his dimples.

"You're too perfect." Zayn laughs breathlessly, staring down at him and Niall just adores the way his eyes sparkle. Niall's nose crinkles. "There's no such thing as perfect." Zayn sits up at that, eyebrows raised in a challenge. "Actually, perfect _does_ exist. The definition of perfect, however, does not." 

Niall stares at him curiously. "Explain." He says, and Zayn continues. "Perfect is everywhere, it could be in the way somebody walks, or talks. Could be in the way somebody laughs or their personality, their eyes.." Zayn whispers the last part and gets a little distracted but he shakes his head, tries to focus. "Anyway, perfect is everywhere. The reason why people don't see it is because everybody sees something a little differently to everyone else. There's no definition because there's too many kinds. I think the way you laugh is perfect, but you might not." Niall shakes his head, thinks his laugh is annoying. 

"I think your ice skating skills are perfect." Niall shakes his head quickly at that. "Oh god, no. Today was terrible. The back of my head still hurts."

"I still think it was." Niall rolls his eyes, stares at the soft carpet deep in thought. Zayn giggles. "You and your injured head are perfect, too." 

The blond sighs in mock annoyance, Zayn leaning back in the seat and taking Niall's hand back in his. "So tomorrow, when you're skating your pretty ass out there, just remember that whatever you do, or how many times you feel like you've failed, you probably haven't." Niall snorts, aims to look away but then Zayn's gaze intensifies, his face falling solemn as his grip on Niall's hand slightly tightens.

The blond gulps. 

"You're my definition of perfect, Ni." The younger boy feels the breath rush out of him, he was not expecting that but he's suddenly flooding with a euphoric emotion. Zayn says it with such sincerity, Niall wants to cry. But he's not gonna do that, so he does the next best thing. He straddles Zayn's lap and wraps his arms around his neck, squeezes him tightly, pressing his face into Zayn's jaw. "Thank you, _so_ much, Zayn. Fucking hell, that's got me excited for tomorrow now. Thank you!"

"You're welcome." Zayn chuckles, hands placed on his hips and Niall draws back, their faces close and their noses touching. "You're gonna do well in your game tomorrow, too. I just know it!"

"And how do you know that?" Zayn challenges. "Because you're not my definition of perfect, Zayn, you _are_ the definition." 

The smile on his face disappears and he looks surprised, but overjoyed. Niall continues to ramble. "So basically you'll ace tomorrow, and win, because perfect people such as yourself don't lose and don't you dare give me that negative attitude that you always have or I swear to god, Malik, I will punch you in the –" He's cut off by a pair of soft lips on his and Niall freezes, Zayn moulding their mouths together with strong moves but with slow rhythm. Niall takes a second to register what is happening, and during that second, Zayn feels a bit embarrassed, wondering why Niall isn't kissing back but suddenly fingers are carding through his hair and the knees on either sides of his hips tighten their lock. Niall's eyelids flutter shut and he smiles as their tongues gently brush each other, shy chuckles emitting from both of their lips. It's all soft touches and quiet dreamy sighs and they're too lost in the intoxicating scent of the other person that they don't realise the lurking brunet hiding behind the corner. 

 

"Huh." 

 

Zayn and Niall pull away from each other and Niall would have jumped straight off him but he's literally frozen in place, jaw dropped and cheeks flushed; feeling mortified. "Louis.." Zayn splutters.

Louis presses his lips together in a tight line, and nods his head, eyes squinted as he backs away; thumbs up as he disappears around the corner while muttering, "So that's what you've been busy doing.."

Niall flushes at the double meaning, he's about to climb off Zayn's lap but the grip on his hips (his ass, actually) tightens. "What're you doing?" Niall asks. 

"What, don't leave, no!" The darker boy whines, his feet stomping the floor. "Zayn, I have an event tomorrow."

"Well," He harrumphs. "So do I." Niall fake gasps. "Who knew Zayn Malik was such a bad boy." The older boy smirks a little, pulls his best smoulder and clears his throat, "Only for you, baby." He whispers huskily, in a deep voice. 

Niall laughs, shakes his head and gets off his lap. "Well, Mr. Badboy, I'm sorry, but." He stands up off the couch. "I'm going to bed." Niall's about to leave the room but then Zayn's standing up. "Wait!" He yells, Niall wincing at the loudness of his tone. He turns around. 

Brown eyes are slitted in concentration, biting his lip and looking really hesitant but then he's blurting it out so fast Niall doesn't know if it was on purpose or by accident. 

"Please come to bed with me, Niall. No sex, or anything like that. I just wanna snuggle." He looked like a puppy, so of course the answer was – "Okay."

—

Niall wakes up before Zayn and  lightly shaking his shoulders. "Zayn. Zayn, I'm leaving. Wake up," He gets an incoherent groan in response causing the blond to roll his eyes. "Zayn, wake up. Goodbye kiss, c'mon." Zayn opens his eyes slowly, blinking blearily before pushing Niall's lips towards his. "Mm, why did you wake me?" He slurs after pulling away. 

"Well, would you rather me leaving without saying and then you waking up disappointed?" Zayn grumbles something along the lines of "meerrghh" and that's when Niall laughs, getting up to leave. 

"Good luck tonight!" He blows a kiss to Zayn's sleeping figure.

"You too, babe!" Zayn manages to call out, not really noticing the name slipping from his lips until the door locks closed. He sits up with his eyes wide. _What?_  Niall grins on the other side, having heard the name just before he left. 

He quietly makes his way down the stairs before slipping his gloves on and grasping the knob, twisting it but as soon as a rush of cold air flows into the room, a voice makes him jump out of his skin. 

"Hey! Blondie!" He spins on his heel and sees a group of tall, muscular men surrounding the dining table through the door, all eyes on him. He flushes immediately when he sees the brunet from last night, who wasn't as tall as the others but had these arms that were probably the same size as Niall's head. 

Louis, Niall remembers his name was, and he was the one who called for him. "Umm, hi." He mutters with a shy wave, slowly opening the door in hopes he could sneak away but Louis, accompanied by Mr. Muscle, seem to have a different idea. 

"Oh, nooo. Nope, you're coming with us," Niall gapes as the larger one throws him over his shoulder and takes him into the kitchen. The blond's face flushes red and he pulls his shirt over his bum, aware that the tightness of his pants are probably giving the whole ice hockey team a good view. He's seated on the kitchen counter and he's burning under the stares of nineteen men. Niall swears there wasn't this much on the rink. 

"Uhm. Hi." He waves. 

"What's your name?" The muscly once who carried him in here asked. "Niall." He smiles shyly and the kitchen was suddenly filled with coos. The blond looked at them bemusedly, what did he do?

"Aww, he's cute." 

Niall's eyes widened and he cleared his throat. "I, ugh, I have to go? I have training today, so." 

Louis shakes his head. "It's only a few minutes, Niall. Tell us about yourself, what's your event?"

"Ugh, okay." The blond wets his lips and rubs his ankles together. "I'm 20, I represent Ireland and I do men's figure skating." The smiles on their faces fall and Niall feels as if he's committed a crime and he's being interrogated.

"You're a figure skater?" Niall nods. "Yeah, why?" 

A guy from the back groans, Louis' head snapping in his direction and shooting him a glare. "Be nice to the lad, Devine. It's obvious he doesn't know."

"Know about what?" Niall questions. Muscly guy steps forward and smiles apologetically at him. "Ice hockey players and figure skaters never usually get along, sorry mate." 

Niall arches a brow. "Why?" Louis rolls his eyes. "Some figure skaters say that ice hockey players can't do what they do. Which is false." They wait for Niall to reply but the blond doesn't say anything, instead, he laughs. He laughs so hard that he rolls around the counter with his face pressed into the marble. He doesn't notice a few players standing up and looking at him angrily but Louis stops them, raises his hand and telling them to sit back down. Once Niall calms down, he wipes a tear from his cheek and giggles quietly, apologising under his breath.

"Why are you giggling?" They ask and Niall tries not to burst out laughing again. 

"'Cos you said you can do what we do." Louis glares at him. "We can."

Niall kicks his legs forwards and backwards, shaking his head. "No you can't." He smirks. 

Louis looks mad. "Yes we –"

 

"Niall? You're still here."

 

Zayn appears at the door in a shirt and pyjama pants, rubbing his eyes. When his vision clears, he looks scared when he sees his teammates glaring murderously at Niall. "Uh-oh."

Louis steps forward. "Yeah, uh-oh. Why didn't you tell us about _snowflake_ over here?" Niall chuckles a bit at the name, but he's still a little confused. 

Zayn shrugs. "He's not like others, and so what? He's cool, he went to our first game." The lad smiles. 

"Yes, we know. You didn't tell us about his _event_."

"Oh please, none of us can do what he does. And can you please let him go? Free programme's today, and so is our second game. We have more important things to worry about than mine and Niall's relationship." The blond's head tilts up at that, smiling widely. Zayn returns it and the rest of his teammates groan in disgust, looking away and fake vomiting. Louis pretends to puke into the sink and the muscular guy wipes at his eyes, "It burns!"

"Shut up, Liam." Zayn shoves him away, walking to Niall and kissing his cheek. He lifts the blond off of the table and sets him on the floor. "You better head over to the rink, babe, Aedan's probably looking for you." 

Niall gasps. "Shit, you're right! Gotta go. Bye!" He briefly kisses Zayn on the lips before rushing out the door. 

A silence falls over the kitchen and Zayn sighs (dreamily) as the door slams closed. He turns his head and sees a large smirk plastered on Louis' face. _"You better head over to the rink, babe."_ Louis mocks him, lowering his voice and putting on his best Bradford accent, he puckers his lip and makes kissy noises, the whole team erupting into laughter. 

Zayn rolls his eyes, despite the teasing, he loves these boys with all his heart. "Who's Aedan?" One of the boys call out and Zayn just shrugs like it was nothing. "His coach."

Liam's eyebrows do a funny dance. "So you've seen him train, have you?"

"Saw him perform as well." He grins. 

Andy, one of the players, look incredulous. "And how long have you known each other?" 

Zayn bites his lip but he can't stop himself from giggling. "Like, two days." Stan snorts. "Wow, you've known each other for _so_ long."

"It's amazing." Josh adds. All of them begin to clap and it's almost like Zayn's just got married or something. He bites the side of his cheek and wonders why he's thinking of such a thing. Was he really in _that_ deep?

"Aww, lads." Louis comes over to the darker boy and throws his arm over Zayn's shoulder. "It's clear that there's an obvious connection between the two. So let's not be mean to the little guy, okay?"  Zayn's grateful, glad that the boys approve of him and Niall. "Thanks."

Louis sniggers, "No problem, _babe_."

—

The night was long, when Niall stepped onto the rink, his heart was pounding. He can't fail this time, not again. His performance tonight is what is going to get him that gold medal. He waves to the crowd before assuming the first position. 

The routine for free programme was something Niall perfected ever since he left the team GB ice hockey player house this morning, and if he falls again, he's never gonna live it down. 

 

Zayn's screaming out the name of his teammate as another one gets knocked down. His coach sends him in and he'a determined as fuck to win. They've got one more game tomorrow until qualifications so they need to fucking power up or else. 

The whistle blows and the game start, they rush in, the team they're playing, Latvia, has the puck and Louis comes sliding in, slamming the player into the side and passing the puck to Zayn, he skids to a halt as he spins on his blade, rushing towards the net but the puck's snatched away from him. 

"Fuck," he curses, racing back to grab it, Liam beats him to it, and passes it to Zayn last minute before he gets smushed by a particularly large player. Zayn glides quickly towards the net, everybody rushing after him and he looks up. 

It's open. 

He rushes towards the net and takes a hit, it slides right in between the goal tender's legs. 

He scores. 

 

Niall rounds the side of the rink, looking over his shoulder as he skates backwards before he takes a deep breath, he twist his body before throwing his leg in the air in one lutz, he lands safely before his body spins in the air in another jump. The crowd cheers as he executes the move perfectly. Niall wants to cry, but it wasn't over yet.  Another deep breath before he circles the centre, leg in front of him as he twirls around. His blade skids on the cold ground, causing the ice to scatter as he pulls to a stop. He finishes with his hands in the air and a loud cheer from the crowd. 

He's not safe yet. 

More people were to skate after him. He frowns at how negative his thoughts were but a smile quickly creeps up onto his face when he thinks about Zayn. As he sits back down with Aedan, he bites his nails as he looks up at the scoreboard. Aedan's hand rubbing circles in his back as they anxiously wait for the results. 

"Niall Horan, representing Ireland, received.. 196.03!" Niall gapes. 

"He is now ranked in third place." He bites his lip to keep from smiling but he couldn't contain it, he jumped up and squished the life out of Aedan, smiling so wide his face went numb. "Congratulations." Aedan said. "That was perfect." Niall smiled into his neck. Perfect. 

"Yeah. It definitely was." 

 

Fifteen seconds on the timer, and they're winning by one point. No, Zayn's not taking that risk. He's crushed by a larger player and random sticks are bruising his legs but he squeezes out from the bulkier lad's body and manages to steal the puck. He passes it to Louis before he falls to the ground, his stomach colliding with the ice. He gets back up, the puck swerving it's way to Josh, who slides it to Liam. The other team are getting tired, Zayn can tell. But so are they. 

They have five seconds on the clock, and the puck's passed to him. Fuck. Shit. Why. He runs for it though, swings his arm, hockey stick angled and the puck goes flying.  

 

3..        

     2..                

          1.. 

 

They score.

They win 4 - 2.  Everything's a blur and the rest of the boys come rushing onto the ice, crushing the lad into a hug before he's raised in the air, but then Zayn remembers something and he's asking – no, _begging_ to be dropped. 

"Guys, let go. Guys, please! I have to go see Niall! Lads, come on." They don't lower him until they've reached the changing rooms and Zayn's rushing in, taking his skates off and his helmet and quickly stripping. When he runs out he's wearing his hockey jersey and jeans and trainers and he ignores the paparazzi, because the only thing he cares about right now is Niall.  

—

_Seems like we were right! After winning his second game, Malik rushes over to where the figure skating event was held (the Iceberg Skating Palace), wanting to see the_ _Irish representative before the night ends._

_Team GB won 4 - 2 against Latvia and are now preparing for their game against Switzerland, apart from Zayn, it seems, because the Brit has been so focused on a particular male figure skater, what if the ice hockey player forgets about his own team? Will he abandon his team for a little bit of love?_

—

Zayn skids to a halt at the entrance and pushes the doors. Locked. 

"Fuck you!" He yells at the door, hearing loud clapping and cheering on the other side. He pulls at his hair before looking around. There's gotta be somewhere he can sneak in. He runs around the corner but all the doors are either toilets or broom cupboards. 

There's no other way apart from those doors, which were fucking locked. 

Zayn slumps against the wall next to the doors and sighs. _Niall's probably finished by now_ , he thinks, and Zayn doesn't get to see it. Or Niall could have lost (which Zayn greatly doubts but he's in a rough spot right now so his brain is thinking of every possible scenario), and could be crying and Zayn isn't their to comfort him. 

Either way, Zayn isn't there. And that's what makes him feel like crying. 

A Russian security guard comes over to him and nudges the boy with his foot. It takes a moment for Zayn to glance up and realise what's wrong before sighing tiredly. "Oh, sorry. Yeah, I'm leaving." 

He grumpily stands up and walks towards the exit but the guard pulls him back and starts saying stuff Zayn doesn't understand. The darker boy looks lost. "I – sorry, I don't speak Russian." 

The security guard rolls his eyes but then says, "Come," and beckons Zayn towards the door.  Zayn looks at him weird as he makes pushing gestures with his hands. "You push?" The man says. Zayn nods his head. "Yeah, I did but it was locked and –"

A hand stops himself from talking because then the guard laughs at him. "No push. You must pull." He says and pulls on the handle, the cheers flooding the hall and Zayn grins, bowing his head.

"Thank you!" He pats the man's shoulder before rushing in. 

 

 

He doesn't apologise to the people he pushes away, because he sees a glimpse of blond hair on the screen and he doesn't waste a second longer until he's running towards the corner. 

People are blocking his view and he's angry for a moment, just wanting to see Niall; _his_ Niall. There's a lot of cheering and fancy music and he can hear the voice begin to announce the winners. Shit. 

The voice calls out the winner for bronze and that only fuels Zayn's determination. He sees a familiar head of brown hair and he screams, louder than all the yells of the people surrounding him. "Aedan!" 

The older man's head spins and his grin is wide, people clearing a path for him when they realise he's with him. Aedan throws his arm around Zayn's shoulder and he nudges him in the rib. 

"Look." 

There Niall was, all beautiful with his green coat on, face stretched into a large smile, showing off his pearly white teeth. A man comes along and places a medal over his head, a medal coloured silver. 

"Coming in second place, is Ireland's representative, Niall Horan!" He's then given flowers in his hands and Zayn feels so proud. He walks closer and Niall's cheeks are a bright, beautiful pink flush from the sweat he broke from skating. 

"He receives 275.62 overall from short programme and free skating. He is given the silver medal." When hazel meet blue, Zayn wasn't surprised, he wasn't even calling Niall's name, they were just capable of finding each other in large crowds. They're always able to find each other. Once again, it's the same time as the opening ceremony. Everything's slowing down and Zayn sighs, feeling almost deaf from the loud cheers. 

Niall bounces up and down on the small white step, smiling at the cameras but mostly at Zayn, the boy notices, blue eyes constantly drifting towards him. The three winners pose together for a final picture and Zayn feels like a proud mother, even though Niall didn't win first, he still looked extremely happy and that was enough for Zayn. 

—

Later when they're alone together, Niall finds himself panting, but not in a sexual way. 

As soon as they were by themselves, Zayn pounced on him, attacking his lips and kissing him with all his might. Niall's never been kissed so fiercely before, he's short of breath but all his brain is saying is "kiss the fuck out him", so Niall complies with fervour. 

They're inside Zayn's room and Niall doesn't know when it started but then he was pushed against the wall and there's a firm grip on his hips and it's all happening so fast, Niall's not sure what to do. There's laughter coming from downstairs, the rest of the players oblivious to the now fully naked couple moaning upstairs. 

Zayn had stripped off his jersey, revealing his his tone stomach and the tattoos scattered across his chest and arms. Niall's eyes roamed his body, the way his torso glistened with sweat under the dim lamplight oddly charged Niall's want for him. He looked so fucking good. 

Zayn had a good view as well, Niall's skin almost as white as the snow, the contrast amazed him. The freckles littered all over his shoulders and cheeks (both) he found highly amusing and beautiful. Niall glowed each time their eyes met. 

It wasn't as rushed as the moment they started, it slowed down as soon as they finally got a glimpse of each other's skin. After days of being fully clothed and not seeing the other person's body underneath, it only made the moment more special. 

Tonight wasn't a night of pure lust and aggression, it meant so much more. They were celebrating both of their wins, specifically Niall. 

That's why when Zayn slipped inside him, he couldn't stop worshipping the beauty beneath him. "Perfect," he whispered. "Absolutely perfect."

He kissed Niall's shoulder's, making a trail of kisses that moved all the way up his neck before finishing with one last press to his lips. Each kiss ignited a heat inside Niall and his skin burned with a newfound sensation. 

Niall smiled up at him, pulling him down so their lips met in the middle, the slow rock of Zayn's hips making him release small gasps each time the tip of Zayn's cut cock brushed his prostate. "Zayn," Niall slid his hands through Zayn's hair. "Yeah, baby?"

"Y-You feel so good." Niall whispered, eyes fluttering closed as their bodies moved in a slow, sensual rhythm. "You too, baby, you look so good. You feel wonderful." He whispers into Niall's neck as he rocked harder. "Fuck, Ni. You're worth gold." Niall's never felt so attached to somebody, he's never connected with somebody so quickly and felt so strongly for somebody before. 

It wasn't his first time, but it fucking feels like it is. He wishes Zayn was his first, loves how Zayn whispers his name so breathlessly, craves the moans that spill from his lips when Niall mewls beneath him.  Zayn buries himself deep inside the blond lad and a shiver rips through his spine, his hard length compressed tightly by the tightness of Niall's velvety heat. Niall paints his stomach white and Zayn releases into the condom (supplied by the village) with a guttural moan.

Everything was good.

 

Until the next day.

—

The team falls silent as they tiredly changed out of their uniform. Some weren't even bothering, they just sat on the bench, head buried in their hands while replaying the game in their heads. _What went wrong?_ That's what Zayn was doing right now. He couldn't believe it. They lost. By one point. One fucking point! 

Niall sighs, placing a comforting hand on Zayn's thigh, leaning his head on the boy's shoulder. "Guys, cheer up, okay?" Zayn shook his head, constantly muttering under his breath; "It was one point, one _goddamn_ point."

Niall looked at him with a sad smile. "Yes, you lost. Yes, you feel horrible–"

"Fantastic pep talk, Niall." Liam breathes out sarcastically and the team huffs out a laugh. Except Louis. Liam notices immediately and feels worry bubble in his stomach, the older boy leaning against the metal with a scowl on his face that was clearly visible even though his head was tilted down, his fringe trying to hide it. Niall just chuckles awkwardly, slightly discouraged because he doesn't know what to say at that moment, he's never done this before and he never thought he was going to. But all courage he did have, even if it was a little, was washed down the drain at the break of awkward silence. 

"Louis?" Liam mutters, and when the brunet's head snapped up, his eyes landed on Niall and the glare he was given was the most scariest thing the blond's ever seen. His words were the last straw. "You know this is your fault, right?" He pushed himself off the locker, his arms folded over his chest as he stared at the couple squished together on the bench.

"Louis," Liam's warning voice was heard but it went into his hear and out the other; Louis ignored it. "Because of this fucking whatever you two are, fuck buddies, boyfriends, you two are the reason why we lost." Niall looks ashamed and Zayn looks disappointed, mostly at Louis. Out of the whole team, him and Louis were the closest, the dynamic duo, the partners in crime; Zayn never thought Louis would blame their loss on him, with such a stupid reason as well.

Zayn stood up, Niall begrudgingly getting onto his feet slowly. "The thing between me and Niall is not the problem, you can't just blame everything on us." Zayn reacted calmly and Niall knew by the way his fists clenched that he didn't want to react that way. 

"You're right." Louis looks back and fourth between the two. "I can't blame everything on you two." His eyes stop on Niall and the blond gulps. "But I can blame everything on you." What Niall hated the most was how the team watched with no emotion, how they let him do this, how they didn't even do anything as to move or show any signs of wanting it to stop. They were on his side. And the saddest part was that Liam was, too. 

"You're the reason why we lost. You. Because of _you_ , Zayn hasn't been coming to practice. Because of _you_ , he hasn't fucking focused. It's because of you that the team was off their game today! Ever since Zayn met _you_ , the connection broke! Because. Of. _You_."

 

Liam agreed. 

The team worked like an electrical circuit. They didn't have a captain because someone bossing them around isn't gonna work, their performance was based solely on their friendship. They had a wire running through all of them and the switch turned on as soon as they stepped onto the rink, igniting the light inside of them and that's what made them win. The teamwork. 

 

When Louis first saw them that night he didn't think much of it, he was fine with Niall only as long as Zayn remained connected. And the night they won while Niall had free programme, Louis thought that hey, maybe Niall wasn't so bad. But tonight just proves that Niall was a distraction. 

"Lads." Their coach walks through the door with a steely expression and they all shut up, icy blue eyes stop on Niall and the blond shrinks back behind Zayn. "Today's game was.. disappointing, 'm not gonna sugarcoat it. We were one point off and we had so many chances of scoring but I didn't understand why that never happened. But," he sighs and looks apologetically at Zayn. "It looks like the reason was standing right in front of us all along." He heard. He heard their argument and now, just like everybody else, he agreed. Zayn and Niall stood back and the younger boy refused to look back at Zayn, feeling so worthless under all their stares that maybe what's to come is for the best.

"I'm sorry, Niall." The coach looks at him with eyes of sympathy, "But in order to get ready for qualifications, I forbid you to see Zayn until then."

Niall doesnt look up but he still nods, dragging himself towards the exit while fighting back the urge to cry. He can feel everyone watch him leave and that just makes him even more upset, how Zayn didn't even say anything to stop them but deep inside Niall knew that if Zayn did, he might risk getting kicked off the team and that would be even worse than what was happening now.

 

As the door shuts behind him, he hears footsteps and feels a presence slip through the gaps before it closes with a quiet bang. "Niall?" The blond just stays silent, continuing to walk down the hall and feeling his eyes water.

"Baby,"

Niall wipes his cheeks clean, not wanting to seem weak in this situation, the nickname making his lip quiver. 

"Niall, please." 

He stops and when Zayn pulls him into his chest, he breaks down into apologies. "They're right Zayn, i-it is my fault! I'm s-so sorry!" The darker boy runs his hands through blond silky locks, sighing and rocking them back and fourth, Niall squeezing his eyes shut because he doesn't want to cry, he just won a silver medal, think positively right? "Don't cry."

"I'm n-not! I'm just really.. I'm really sorry, Zayn." He swallows the lump in his throat and looks up at him. Zayn can see how moist they are and even if Niall says he isn't crying, Zayn knows he wants to. The reason being not because he can't see Zayn again, even though that was pretty sad as well, it was because he felt as if he disappointed him. And it made Niall feel so bad. "It's fine. It's just two days of training without seeing each other. It can't be hard, right? What did you do before you met me?"

Niall thought for a moment. "Skate."

"Then skate." 

"But that was training." 

"Then train."

"I have nothing to train for."

"Then skate for fun."

"It won't be as fun as the night I had with you – I don't think this working," the blond chuckles awkwardly. Zayn shakes his head and softly kisses Niall on the lips. "Occupy yourself. I don't know, hang out with Harry."

"He's went home, though." Zayn sighs frustratedly causing the younger boy to giggle. Niall jumps up and pecks his nose and this time it was Zayn's turn to giggle, the blond squeezes his waist.

"I'll try. Like, really hard." 

They kiss once more before letting go with a quiet goodbye and as Zayn gets closer to the changing rooms, he can hear the loud laughter of his teammates call him back.

Niall's walking away but then his name is echoed throughout the hallway. "Niall?" He turns slowly, staring at Zayn curiously. The darker boy scratches the back of his neck. "I.. I lo–" he coughs and stares at the floor for a second. "I'll, ugh, see you soon, okay?" When Zayn disappears through the doors, Niall smiles weakly when he realises that the first thing the older lad was about to say was certainly not the same as the second. 

—

The same night, the whole team begin to bond, trying to rekindle their previous friendship and it honestly wasn't as hard as Zayn originally thought it was going to be. 

They played video games, watched tv, drank a bit. Their spat that happened earlier was forgotten, as if it never happened. Zayn didn't think it would be so easy. 

 

It wasn't. 

 

 

The next day, Zayn wasn't the same. As soon as he saw the white, snowy, silver shimmer of the ice, it immediately reminded him of Niall. Which he thought was incredibly stupid because god fucking damn they've only known each other for three consecutive days, why was he so hooked up on that guy anyway? His swing was sloppy and he couldn't balance himself on his skates. 

Basic skating he couldn't do, he was literally so confused. And so was his coach and Louis. 

 

"Maybe not letting him see Niall was a bad idea." Coach said to Louis after beckoning him over. The brunet looked over at Zayn and saw him grabbing onto the sides of the rink. "He just needs to loosen up, get used to it." Louis assured. Coach looked unsure as they both watched Zayn push off the side with uncertainty, the darker boy smiled as he stopped wobbling but then his knees buckled and he fell forward. 

Louis humphed, rolling his eyes, gaze falling back on his coach. "He'll be fine."

He wasn't. Zayn stayed on the bench the whole day because he couldn't function properly. His other teammates watched him with pity, Liam constantly cheering Zayn on because he knew Zayn could do it. But it wasn't good enough. Zayn needed one large push, and from the right person. He was back at square one, the basics of ice skating. Which was a total downer. The people watching looked at him with eyes full of pity. They probably thought he smashed his head or something and forgot what to do.

Zayn does know what to do, but his body refuses to move in sync with his brain. 

 

He's left behind, all alone and almost midnight to think over what the fuck was wrong with him. Sitting on the squeaky seat, he contemplates his chances of improving before qualifications. Maybe there was something wrong with his brain, _probably hit my head while falling for Niall_ , he thinks with a grin. 

He sighs, pushing himself off of the seat and dragging himself to the ice. A small smile makes its way onto his face when he looks up at the dim lighting, reminding him of their first date. Remembers how happy Niall looked on the rink as he skated, hair over his eyes, cheeks flushed and a large smile on his face. He will never get over how much of a natural that boy is. 

Zayn was so busy thinking about Niall that he didn't notice how he was skating around the rink, he was skating. Skating normally. Once he snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes widened and he crashed into the wall. "Fuck!"

"...aw shit." He groaned, rubbing his forehead. His head spun as he stood up, and a he can hear a faint noise begin to bubble through his ears. He blinks once, twice before he sees a figure standing before him, suppressed laughs hidden behind a glove too big. He grunts as he balances himself before his vision clears, a pair of familiar blue eyes coming into sight and making Zayn squeal surprisedly.

"Niall?!"

"Shh!" He blocks Zayn's mouth, looks towards the doors quickly before glaring at the older boy.

"Somebody could hear you, you idiot! Do you know how hard it is to sneak in here? Don't you dare get me kicked out." Zayn ignored the scolding and lunged at him, wrapping his arms around Niall's neck and pressing their cheeks together, fully aware of how big his smile was. Niall slumps into his hold and grins just as wide, squeezing Zayn's ribs. "I missed you, so much." The older boy breathes out, pulling away and pecking his lips. 

Niall frowned at that. "If you missed me so much, you'd give me more than that, I barely felt it!" The blond giggles, snaking his arms around Zayn's neck and pulling him forward. Zayn complies and melts into the kiss quickly, feeling the luscious taste of Niall's lips moulding with his own. The sweet velvety feel of his tongue exploring the inside of Zayn's mouth, he felt like he was in heaven.

"Zayn?" It was quiet, but Zayn knew whose voice that was. It was faint and muffled, seemingly coming from the outside of the rink. The two pulled away, curses spilling from Zayn's mouth as the voice called his name again; this time closer. 

Niall looked at the door worriedly, glancing back at Zayn who shared the same expression. "Shit, shit, what do we do?" Zayn whispered, pulling away from Niall and gazing back and fourth between the blond boy and the door. He heard the door creak open and with a strong rush of wind, Niall hid. Right by the entrance from where he came from, Niall hid by the side of the barrier, crouched down and smirking at him as he winked. 

"Zayn?" 

"Hi, Louis." 

The brunet stepped forward, Zayn practically sweating because once he steps on the ice, Niall will come into view and their cover will be blown. 

"Hey, ugh.. what're you doing?" Louis looked sheepish, tired even. It was clear he had a lot on his mind. Zayn frowned a little at that. "Trying to improve, don't wanna screw up during qualifications." 

Niall stares at Louis' shadow on the ice, a bright light coming in from the hallway and making the boy seem taller than he was. The blond looks at Zayn curiously but the older lad refused to return his gaze. _What did Zayn mean by screw up?_

"I'm really sorry, Zayn. I understand how much Niall means to you and how not being with him, despite the short time you've gotten to know each other, must really be hard for you, but what I don't get is the fact that.." He sighs and Niall looks more than puzzled. "You did fine before you met him, Zayn. You functioned normally! When you two kissed on the couch, you were fine, the game after, you were fine as well. But now," Niall can see his shadow tug on his hair frustratedly and his eyes widen when Louis takes a step forward. "Now you can't even skate properly! I-I don't get it!"

Zayn could tell that he was stressed, that as soon as practice was over, he didn't sleep like the rest of the team did. 

The darker boy stared at the ice, it was something he was confused about as well, thought about it long and hard and when he saw Niall on the ice with his knees pressed to his chest, cheeks flushed, his eyebrows and forehead covered by a beanie, looking so cute and cuddly, Zayn knew. 

"Louis," the brunet looked up and his eyes were bloodshot from being up so late. He arched a brow as Zayn took a step forward. "Do you remember that little handkerchief your grandma gave you? Remember how you carried it to every game?" He nods. "If it were taken, damaged or ripped away from you, how would you feel?"

"I'd feel like shit." Zayn crinkles his nose, not happy with that answer and Louis visibly slouched in defeat. "I guess I'd feel really.. really lost?" 

The darker boy nods. "Exactly." Louis shakes his head, takes another step forward. "But I can adjust my life to living without it. I'll be able to function, eventually." He shrugs. "It's the same with you and Niall."

Zayn's cheeks flush as he stares at the blond boy crouching on the ice, "And what if I can't?"

"You will.."

"You sound uncertain."

"You will, Zayn." He says more confidently. "You can't let this kid ruin your Ice Hockey career, okay?" Niall's breath hitches and his hand flies toward his mouth to keep in anymore sounds. Louis continues, "Just because he isn't here, doesn't mean you should stop playing. He's ruining you, Zayn, you can't let him do that." Zayn's face turns sour.

"He isn't 'ruining' me, Louis. He makes me happy, why don't you understand?" Louis takes another step forward, he's two steps closer to seeing Niall and if he does, things might get worse. "I do understand that! But what happens when all this finishes, huh? When the olympics are over, and he's back in Ireland while you're stuck in England. What then?"

"I go see him." He doesn't hesitate. 

"Oh. Okay then, sure." Louis sounds doubtful, arms crossed over his chest as he takes another step forward. "You choose him over us?"

"I'm not choosing, Louis. You're making me choose. Ice Hockey is my everything, the team is my everything, and ever since I met Niall, he's become my everything as well. He's become a part of my life, he's given me unbelievable amounts of happiness and confidence in a mere few hours. Haven't you noticed how much I've come out of my shell? When I first came here, I was scared, I was checked by guys twice my size and I let myself be walked over. Coach yelled at me, you saw that. Niall saw that. But now I'm better, don't you see?" Zayn's fists are clenched and he's gliding forward. Niall's eyes have stopped shedding tears but still contained the glassy effect he always has when he finished, his eyes are bright and his cheeks are flushed and he feels so lucky to have met such an amazing person. "Niall's doing the opposite of ruining me, Lou. He brings out the best in me. And now that I'm not allowed to see him, why do you expect me to adapt to being without him so quickly?"

The brunet stays silent, face solemn but Zayn can tell that he was thinking everything through. The darker boy sees his eyes fall on the ice before they narrow and a smirk appears on his face. He looks back at Zayn with a concluding nod before he walks out. 

 

Niall waits a few seconds until he gets up, wiping his frozen fingers on his pants before sliding to his (boy?)friend with a fond smile gracing his lips. "Was all that true?" Zayn's head tilted to the side just a little, having trouble catching the blond boy's eyes because Niall was circling him, hands behind his back. "What?"

"All that.. stuff. How I make you happy, how I brought out the best in you." Zayn chuckles breathlessly, Niall stopping right in front of him with a stab of his shoe. "Of course." Zayn saw no reason to lie. "If I wasn't telling the truth, then I wouldn't even be here! I'd be strutting down red carpets and posing."

Niall giggles. "You have the jawline for that. And um, thanks?" Zayn lets out a laugh of his own, quiet and light. He took Niall into his arms and kissed his forehead. "Ignore what he said, yeah? You're not ruining me, or my career or anything."

"I forgot about that as soon as you said you'd come see me even though I'm all the way in Ireland."  

"Oh, that bit I didn't mean." Niall's face fell and his cheeks heated, pulling away from Zayn crestfallen. Zayn immediately pulled the blond back towards him, "Woah, woah, slow down, I was kidding. Of course I'd come visit you. We can't go through all of this and never see each other again, right?" When Niall didn't answer, the Bradford native got a little worried. "Right?" He repeated. 

Niall pulled away slightly and glared at him, turning his back and crossing his arms. "I don't know, after that little stunt of yours I might not fancy seeing you anymore." Zayn's jaw dropped and he rushed over, wrapping his arms around Niall and resting his head on the younger' boy's. "Please don't, I'm sorry." Niall shuffles away and Zayn pouts, turning his back as well. "Fine."

Niall was not gonna give in. "Hmph." 

"Hmph." Zayn wasn't either. 

"Hmph!" Niall said louder. 

"HMPH!" 

Niall turned around, laughing as he looked at Zayn's lovely lithe body under the poor lighting. The older boy doing the same while giggling. It amazes them how fond they were of each other. It's quite unbelievable how whipped they were for each other as well, even though they'd probably deny it (Niall might not, he's pretty certain about his feelings for Zayn, he's just too shy to admit it). 

Niall's opening his arms out, aiming to wrap them around the boy's neck but Zayn slits his eyes. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Don't know, don't care. Now come kiss me."

" _Niall,_ "

The blond rolls his eyes, hugs himself and fakes a chill. "Brrr, it's so cold. My fingers and feet are freezing. Aghhh. I can't feel my lips." 

Zayn smirks, rolling his eyes before sighing in defeat. "I can do that for you."

—

The next day was really strange. Louis wasn't completely strict today, coach too. The team also didn't seem to hate him as much. Everything felt okay. 

Zayn was tired from going to sleep at two in the morning, and he's still pretty upset at the fact that Niall wasn't with him. But tomorrow was important, so he tried really hard to push Niall into the farthest corner of his mind, not completely out of it, but just far enough that he could focus. 

And practice went fine, the full day flying by quickly and though Zayn struggled with not thinking about Niall, he used the blond as a way to refuel his determination. Chanting to himself _do it for Niall_ constantly.  

They were all surprised by how quickly he recovered, and as much as he was told by his teammates that he was getting better because Niall wasn't there, he ignored them. Wanting to tell them so badly that Niall was in the very same rink they skated on last night but he knew he couldn't. They didn't meet that day, but he wasn't hurt by it. He knew Niall was probably giving him some practice time for the game tomorrow and a little space. He wasn't quite sure how he knew that, he just sort of felt that that's what Niall would do, or was doing. 

He suddenly wished he had Niall's number because the distance was strange. He felt a little lost, like a piece was missing. The other half of him. That's why when they entered the arena, 18th February for the Men's Play-offs Qualifications, Zayn was more than happy to see Niall sitting in _his_ seat. The seat Zayn first saw him. 

Zayn was pulled back by coach, telling him that he can't see Niall until the end of the game but just having Niall in the same room after a day made him feel whole again.  

—

They won by a score of 5 - 2 and Zayn wasted no time rushing towards the barrier, the one where he crashed into like a week ago. He threw his helmet off and dropped his hockey stick, Niall noticing him and rushing towards the older boy excitedly, the blond jumped over the wall but remained seated on it; not even hesitating to pull Zayn's head towards his in a celebratory kiss. 

It was a mixture of _I miss you, we should never do that again_ and you _won, oh my god, I'm so proud of you._ Neither gave a fuck at the camera flashes, they were too consumed in each other's warmth. Zayn stood in between Niall's legs, hands on his hips and pale arms around his neck and to think that that perfect little moment was captured by a thousand cameras was a little bit violating, but at the same time great.

 

Because now they have a picture of their reunion all over the internet in 27 different angles.

— 

The team apologised to Niall and coach did as well, Liam hugging the blond and stroking his hair whilst Louis patted him on the shoulder. 

They were forgiven, obviously. 

But after him, Liam and Louis parted and Niall went over to hug Zayn, he began to get second thoughts when the whole team started crowding around them, chanting, "KISS! KISS!". Niall slammed his lips onto Zayn's before the boy could shyly refuse. And yeah, the night was great. 

—

The next night was Quarterfinals, so things were getting heated. Niall was nervous, and they all were. Anxiety shot through their bodies and doubt began filling their minds, but Niall was having none of if. 

"Hey!" The murmuring stopped and all heads turned to him questioningly. To be honest, he wasn't quite sure what he was doing, last time this happened, he got shouted at, but his mouth was moving before he could even stop it. "I can see all of you, you know? I can practically feel what you're feeling because it's so thick it's running through the goddamn air!" The team chuckles as Niall waves his hands about, pretending to whack away the negative vibes. But then Niall's smile softens. "I know how you all feel, but you need to _not_ think like that, okay? Today's game is what's gonna get you to the top, and looking like.." He searches the room before stopping on Liam, who was pouting greatly. "That." 

The team chuckles, "Isn't gonna help you. You guys told me you worked like an electrical circuit, and that's the best thing I've heard any team say, but come on, you need that spark, right? So here. I'm that spark, I'm gonna give you power. You go up there, with your intimidating muscles, those scary growls of yours and your rugged manliness and you fucking slaughter the shit out of them! Okay?!" 

A long silence stretches and Niall facepalms. "I didn't mean literally, you're hockey players, not murderers. Jesus christ."

 

Suddenly the room was filled with murmurs of agreement, the volume soon increasing until they all began cheering and shouting with joy. Niall looked at the uplifted team and sighed happily, feeling an arm drape around him.

"No offence, babe. But that wasn't a very well thought out speech." The blond laughs. "Zayn, I'm tired, hungry, but I'm also ready and fuelled with spirit. Don't you fucking dare ruin it for me." 

"I'm just saying!" Zayn raises his arms up in surrender, backing away but Niall yanks him back by his wrist, kissing Zayn's nose. "Good luck tonight, you guys are gonna be fucking awesome." Zayn rolls his eyes. "Aren't I always?"

"Not without me you're not." The blond snorts. And Zayn couldn't help but agree. 

— 

20th February, everyone had a break. The women's Bronze and Gold medal games were today and it gave the team a chance to rest up or, in Zayn and Niall's case, do something a little more fun.

 

Zayn smirked into the kiss, his hands wandering under the blond's shirt and squeezing at his hips. The action caused a shiver to rip through Niall's spine, sending goose bumps all over his body and a soft moan into the older boy's mouth. Zayn grinned, pulling back and sliding his hands further up Niall's sides, his thumbs lightly brushing the hard nubs of his nipples before he finally pulled the shirt off.

The whole team was asleep so they had to be really quiet, the door had a lock, but the walls were pretty thin and just the slightest yelp can be heard on the other side. But as they stripped one article of clothing after another, the marks on their skin darkened and their kisses turned more feverish and they slowly began to not give a fuck. 

Zayn lay him down gently on the bed, they weren't completely bare yet, but as they gazed at each other's skin, they were both a little in awe. "I didn't know you had so many tattoos.." Niall's never seen him in the changing rooms, always waiting outside because he knows standing in front if a bunch of tall, fit guys, sweaty and shirtless, was not good for him. Zayn was used to it, plus he’d never check out his best mates (he may have admired Louis’ arse once but c’mon, it’s pretty big). The first time they had sex was rushed and Niall was so lost in Zayn's half-lidded gaze he didn't notice them all that much. Niall absentmindedly ran his fingers over his chest and to say he was mesmerised was an understatement. His legs were draped on either side of Zayn's waist and Zayn watched with interest as the boy straddling him traced the ink with his fingers.

"I didn't know you got so red after a snoggin' session." Niall laughs, leaning down to kiss him slowly, warm hands curled around the curve of his waist and Niall decided it was a good time to grind his hips forward. At the feel of Niall's cock through his boxers, Zayn drew back from the kiss with a loud groan, head falling back on the pillow while Niall nibbled on the flesh of his neck. "You're so perfect," the blond giggled into his ear. 

Zayn rolled them over and thumbed the waistband of his boxers, "You are too." He nuzzled his nose against the boy's cheek, cursing under his breath when Niall canted his hips up, moving with his and causing the friction they both needed.  And when they finally took off the last piece of clothing on their bodies, Niall releasing the most sexiest mewl when Zayn took a hold of his dick, the older boy immediately felt sorry for whoever was on the other side of the wall. 

The night was long and the sounds they made merely got louder and louder. Niall's hole was gaping, the prominent outline of his hips making Zayn feel hot. The room's temperature rose and Niall's skin got even more red, flushing the most prettiest shade Zayn's ever seen. The blond fucked himself on Zayn's fingers, feeling the tips brush his prostate and making him whine. "Zayn, c'mon."

"Don't rush me, I'm taking my time." He chuckles, leaning down and attempting to sate Niall with a kiss. Zayn's words made him smile just the slightest, feeling the same when he realised Zayn meant he wanted it to last longer but Niall honestly doesn't feel like he can take it anymore. Niall throws his arms around the older boy's neck and pulls him forward, rolling them so that now he was on top. The darker boy gasped, feeling the head of his cock press against Niall's hole. He moaned aloud.  Niall smirked. "Still wanna take your time now?" And with that, Niall slid himself down onto Zayn's cock, swallowing the desperate whine that erupted from Zayn’s mouth with hot suck of his tongue.

—

The next few days were a blur. Full of teasing, bleeding and cheering. 

Semi finals passed by with a flash, they were victorious and all Niall could remember that day was how full his mouth was and how painful but also pleasurable the burn in his throat was each time Zayn thrusted his hips.

 

Anyway..

 

Zayn also bled that day as well, a laceration on his cheek that wasn’t that big, but it still confused Niall how he got it when he wore a helmet.

They fucking won though, so nobody complained. Niall was a bit worried for his “Zaynie-boo” but he was fine. Until later, when the whole team took the piss and started calling him that the whole way through supper. Niall wasn’t helping when he suggested that “Zayniekins” was a pretty good name too. (Zayn later realised that it was all apart of Niall’s plan to embarrass him, the sneaky shit)

 

The next day was Gold Medal Game day and yeah, what a rush. The blond had trouble registering anything because before he knew it, Zayn's team was jumping up and down cheering, despite their loss, and Niall was so fucking confused.  Niall was yanked from where he was seated before he was engulfed into Zayn's arms. He was content with the feeling, smiling widely; a loud laugh leaves his lips as the rest of the team joins in, throwing their arms around the couple and cheering before it dons on Niall what just happened. 

 

They lost the game. 

But they came second place. 

 

It only took a few more seconds for Niall to finally hug back, feeling like a proud father as he was squeezed by all the other guys. "Oh my fuckin' god," he whispered into Zayn's neck in the middle of the hurricane of hugs. Zayn had tears in his eyes, the game against Canada was difficult, but the fact that they made it this far, despite the arguments and the shouting and meeting Niall, it truly has been a great journey for the GB boys.  

They weren’t the slightest bit upset that they didn’t win a gold, they were grateful for everything and literally just being here and experiencing everything was awarding enough. 

It could only go up from there. 

—

When they were given their silver medals and after they had their picture taken, the team rushed to the house completely pumped, the smiles never leaving their faces. “Shit mate, that was insane.” Louis sighed out, Liam’s arm over him as they practically skipped towards the entrance. “Was a pretty good score though, wasn’t it Zayn? Canada were G,” Liam laughed in agreement, “Yeah they were ace!”

When the two received silence, they both glanced behind them with puzzled expressions, before suddenly realising. “Ahh, that’s why you’re so quiet.”

 

Zayn was completely infatuated with the blond boy pressed against his body.

Not a word was heard from anyone else’s mouth apart from Niall’s, everything went unnoticed except from the perfection that was now chuckling against his neck. “Cool it with the heart eyes, Malik. You’re gonna hurt yourself.” Niall mumbled. Zayn laughed. “How am I gonna hurt myse–” 

Zayn stumbled back onto the cold snow, bum wet from the melted ice, his forehead stung from the collision and he looks in front of him, finally realising what Niall meant by hurting himself. His cheeks flushed, finding it humiliating to have just walked right into a lamppost in front of Niall. Cackles were heard and Zayn blushed even harder, the cause definitely not being from the snow.

The laughing was cut short by a high-pitched “Fuck!” and from Zayn’s knowledge, and the fact that he heard the very same word emit from the blond’s lips (just a bit more desperate and breathless) no less than two nights ago, his head snapped towards Niall’s direction. He couldn’t help himself. He burst out a laugh of his own, ignoring the pain from his forehead and he assumed the bump made him snap from his honeymoon phase because then he finally noticed Liam and Louis a few steps ahead of them, leaning on each other cackling. 

The laughter died down when Niall remained sprawled on the floor, groaning and cupping his forehead, wincing when he felt a small bump forming under his frozen fingertips. Zayn rushed towards him, sliding on the frosty ground a bit but stopping in front of Niall, watching him worriedly. “Are you okay?” He asked with a slightly panicked tone, Niall snorted. “Absolutely fine.”

Liam and Louis remained chortling hysterically up until the point where Zayn pulled Niall up and kissed his bump, Niall going onto his tiptoes to kiss Zayn’s too. “Now we match,” Zayn giggled, nuzzling his nose against the blond’s neck. That’s when the laughing stopped and the gagging started. Liam pretend to throw up all over the snow and Louis covered his eyes, screaming in somewhat agony. 

The two friends ran away and Zayn silently cheered, Niall watching him amusedly as he pumped his fist. “Why do you look so happy?” Zayn shrugged. “They left.”

“So?”

“So now we’re alone.” Niall smirked. “And..?”

“Now I can do this.” Zayn pounced on Niall. He squealed, a mixture of surprise and amusement. “Zayn! Put me down, oh my god.” Zayn had his left arm under Niall’s back, his right cupping the back of his knees. They bounced with each step, the blond boy baffled as to why Zayn was carrying him bridal style towards the house, but he didn’t protest against it. “Nah. I never got the chance to carry you off the ice the day you fell,”

Ah, so thats what this is about.

Niall smiled fondly at the side of Zayn’s face, his eyes crinkled and that cute nose of his scrunched up as he laughed at the way the blond whined to be put down. It takes a few seconds of silence for Zayn to finally notice what Niall’s doing. “Cool it with the heart eyes, Horan. You’re gonna hurt yourse–” Zayn turns his head and at the last second, he’s met with a pair of soft lips. He stops walking, and for a moment, stops breathing, too. It was just a simple press of lips but it’s still enough to catch the darker boy off guard. When Niall pulls away, Zayn’s met with a large dimply smile.

The blond arches his brow, “Did that hurt?” Zayn shakes his head, bites his lip a little to hold back a really dopey smile. “No. But it’s unfair.” He playfully glares at the blond before staring straight ahead, continuing on the walk back up to the house. “How’s it unfair?”

“‘Cause when you said that, I gotta lamppost to the face.”

“Are you saying I should get slammed in the face? Because I distinctly remember that happening twenty seconds after you.”

“Yes.” 

Niall gasps. “You fucking dick.”

Zayn smirks. “You are what you eat.”

Niall’s head falls back, laughing out loud and causing Zayn to jump a little, surprised at the noise and almost slipping. The blond’s mouth slams shut and he lets out a squeak, gripping onto Zayn’s neck tighter; pulling him so close Zayn could feel Niall’s breath on his cheek. “Don’t you fucking dare drop me.” Hazel meets icy blue and a sudden rush of dominance flows through Zayn, a smirk curling the corners of his lips. Niall’s eyes widen. “Don’t. Zayn, don’t you dare.” That doesn’t stop him of course. The arm curled around Niall’s back slowly comes loose and the blond’s grip around his neck tightens. Zayn smirks, looking directly into Niall’s eyes with mirth shining at the edges of his own. 

“You owe me an apology, mister.”

Niall rolls his eyes. “You don’t even know my last name.” Zayn shrugs, drops Niall onto his feet and kisses the corner of his lips. He _did_ know Niall’s last name, but he just wanted the opportunity to tell him, “I dunno, Malik suits you pretty well.”

The blond grins even wider at that. “Well, I think Horan suits you pretty well, too.”  

Zayn sighs, shrugs his shoulders. "Wanna swap?" He arches a brow, his tone jokey but his eyes glinting with seriousness. Niall slapped him in the chest. "Wait a few years, Malik. Now," he pats the boys cheek. "Head up to the house," he throws his thumb towards the direction Liam and Louis ran up to. "Because I gotta put my kit on, yeah? See ya in two hours."

Zayn frowns a little, suddenly remembering that the closing ceremony was today, and he was happy that he gets to see Niall's Free Programme performance but that also meant the end. The end of the olympics. When everyone goes home. 

What's gonna happen to them?

Niall notices the distraught look on Zayn's face and sighs. "Hey," his fingers curl around Zayn's wrists, tugging him forward and placing the darker boy's hands on his perfectly curved waist. Goddamn, Zayn _loves_ Niall's _fucking_ waist. Niall has pretty hips and Zayn loves the way they move. "Oi, don't start thinking about sexual stuff. I'm trying to tell you something.." Zayn flushes, seeing some athletes give them weird looks. "Don't look at them." Niall mumbles, arms snaked around a tan neck and running his fingers through Zayn's hair.

"Fuck." The darker boy curses. "Niall you better hurry up with what you wanna say because I might start something I can't finish."

"We'll fuck later. Listen, don't worry, okay? We'll keep in touch. S-Skype or whatever, y'know?" 

Zayn shakes his head, pretends not to notice how nervous the blond was all of a sudden. "'s not the same."

"Well, it'll have to do. I have to go see my.. um, my family after this. We'll find a way somehow." Zayn nods but his pout is still visible. "Cheer up, Z." Niall kisses his lips. 

"Z?"

"It's better than Zayniekins though, right?" Niall chuckles as Zayn shrugs.

"I guess." The blond pokes his right nipple before the prodding the other one and finishing with one last tap on the area just above his bellybutton. "Beep beep boop."

Zayn smiles a crinkly smile, does the same to Niall and throws his arm around him, kissing his cheek. "Thanks, snowflake."

—

Two hours later, Zayn and the team make their way towards the venue where the closing ceremony is held at, Zayn, of course, was buzzing, excited he get to see Niall's winning performance. 

As they sat along with all the other members of TEAM GB, Zayn meets Harry. 

 

"Are you Zayn Malik?" A deep voice rumbles and the team share some odd looks. Zayn nods. "Ugh, yeah. You?"

"'m Harry. You the reason why Nialler hasn't slept in his own bed?" The team bursts into a fit of giggles, Zayn's cheeks flushing a deep pink, his mouth gaping. "I, ugh, yeah, I guess." Harry nods. "He was into you ever since he watched your first game. Came back to our room with a huge smile and everything. Just thought you should know."

Zayn grins. "He talks about me?" There's some wolf-whistling going on behind him which made him blindly swat the person next to him (it was Louis). Harry smiles a dimply grin. "He did. But he kinda stopped sleeping in his bed so I don't know anymore?" He smirks, winking at Zayn cheekily. The darker boy rolls his eyes, smiling still. "What did he say?" 

The curly headed lad shrugs. "Said you were pretty. Two days after that he said you perfect as well, then three days ago I remember him rambling on about how great you are. He seems to be quite fond of you." Zayn wets his lips, nodding as Harry continues. "Wouldn't lose him if I were you."

Zayn doesn't hesitate to reply, "I wouldn't want to."

—

When the lights are dim and ice skaters begin go pile out one by one, song after song, performance after performance, Zayn's at the edge of his seat, his teammates laughing. He pouts every time someone different glides onto the ice. Liam nudges him. "Don't worry, he'll come on soon. Best for last, right?" That causes a small smile to erupt on his face and he nods, agreeing. Niall really was the best. 

It's been almost half an hour when the blond steps out, and Zayn feels like he's fallen in love all over again. 

_In love._

In _love._  

 _In_ love. 

_**In love.** _

The words run through his head over again, he's staring at his lap thinking hard and it's – it's _alright_. He's fine with it. Niall was amazing. He was funny, smart, beautiful; he was everything Zayn wanted and more. Being in love with Niall hasn't changed anything, hasn't made Zayn feel different or whatever. In fact, Zayn was happy he can confirm his feelings with so much pride, and he knows Niall feels the same. He can feel it. 

There was one question that's been bugging his head ever since he started seeing Niall; what happens after the winter olympics finish? Of course, they talked about it. But it just made him think more about it within each passing hour, Zayn keeps thinking about how long distance relationships never work.

Maybe Niall can come live in London. But then again, his family and Aedan are there.

If Zayn goes to Ireland? Oh yeah, the team.

Goddamn McFly, you were wrong. Love is _not_ fucking easy. 

"Guess you're right, Zayn. None of us can do what he does." One of his friends slap him on the back and Zayn's head snaps up, face falling when he realises that the performance was over. Shit. 

—

He sees Niall later, dressed in his huge, green coat and that large beanie over his head, Zayn feels lucky. 

"Did ya like me performance?" Niall asks him after kissing Zayn's lips and seating himself on the chair beside him. The darker boy nods, wraps his arm around Niall and pulls the boy into him. "Needa talk to you.." He whispers, the blond frowns but nods anyway. With the way Zayn squeezed his hand throughout the whole of the ceremony made Niall worry; something was wrong. 

—

They had a choice whether to stay for a few days and explore Russia, or go home. 

The rest of the team went home and Zayn decided that one last day with Niall was exactly what he needed for a perfect goodbye. He knew what he was doing was gonna take months to get over but they were never gonna work out with the thousands of miles that were to separate them. So Zayn wants one last day with Niall before doing the deed. 

They spend their last day in Sochi wrapped up in each other's arms, cuddling, walking around the village and going ice skating one more time just for old time's sake. They end the day with a warm bubble bath, where they just talked. And talked and talked. 

"It was so nerve-wracking though." Niall puffed his cheeks, mind racing back to free programme. He was sat opposite Zayn on the bathtub, their legs entwined. The blond's sunken in, his shoulders underwater and his head being the only thing visible. Zayn, on the other hand (or in this case, side), had his arms spread out on the lip of the tub, watching Niall intently. "Like, I kept thinking that something was gonna go wrong.. like I'd fall or something," Niall looks up at Zayn and his eyes are moist and shiny, like he was reliving the fall that had occurred at short programme.

"But you didn't." Zayn finally says, his arm slipping into the warm bubbly water and stroking Niall's ankle.

The blond giggled, squirming away and crinkling his nose. "Don't do that, it tickles." And with that, his other hand dives in and grips onto Niall's feet, digging his thumbs into the soles making the blond squeak and splash around. "Zayn!" He pulls his legs under him and glares at the lad who was currently laughing his head off, high pitched and hearty.

The blond harrumphs, curses under his breath and turns his body around so his back is facing Zayn.

"C'mon, snowflake, don't be huffy with me."

"I'm not huffy, I just don't want you tickling my feet. Spread your legs."

"Woah, wait,"

"No! I didn't mean –" he sighs. He looks over his shoulder and looks annoyed but amused. "I wanna sit in between your legs, so move 'em." Zayn obeys and the blond slots himself in front of the older boy with a peaceful sigh, Zayn kissing his temple sweetly. "This is nice."

"Yeah," Niall rests his head on Zayn's shoulder, glances up to kiss his jaw. "You said you needed to talk to me?" Zayn squeezes his legs around Niall softly, his arm, the one not trapped under Niall's head, coming down to scoop up the boy's hand in his. "Yeah, I do."

He breathes out a stressful grumble that causes the blond to chuckle. "I have sommin' to say as well. Can I go first?" Zayn nods, laces their fingers together with a firm squish. Zayn quite likes the laugh Niall snorted when their hands made a small farting sound. "I wanted to talk to you about leaving and stuff." The younger traces the ink on Zayn's arm with his finger. 

"What about it?"

"Was wondering if I could, um, go.. with you?" Zayn's breath hitches. "Like, to London, to you're home town. I dunno, I just.."

"Niall you have family. And Aedan as well." He didn’t want to seem like he didn’t want Niall to go it just made things so much harder, how was Zayn supposed to finish things now? It was clear Niall was already in too deep. (So was he, but still.)

"Aedan lives in London.. he only flew to Ireland to train me." The blond looks up at him with hopeful eyes, and when Zayn asks, "What about family?", Niall hides his face, voice wavering. "I-I don't have family." Zayn feels the oxygen knock out of his lungs, feeling his heart slow it’s pace. Niall was all alone.

"B-But you said you had a brother," The older boy stutters. "I do, I live with him b-but it’s hard because he's raising his own family." Zayn gulps, if he said it now, it'd make things worse. Niall would hate him. He can't break Niall's heart after the blond confessed something as huge as that, he just can't.  Zayn bites his lip.

 _I won't_ , he decides. 

"You have me." He whispers, pressing a kiss to Niall's wet cheek. "And the boys as well, we're your family, Ni." He reaches up and pinches Niall's chin. "You can come stay at my house, if you don’t want to live with Aedan, that is. But I can show you around London and take you out to restaurants and all that fancy shit. We’ll even go shopping, I’ll buy you rhinestone ice-skates.”

Niall’s eyes flicker up so blue meets hazel and just the sight of those golden shiners was enough to make the hair on the back of Niall’s neck stand up. He sighs, smiling slightly and giving Zayn the most adoring look he could muster. “You’re so good at this.” The older boy lets out a chuckle, grins at him and bobs his head goofily. “Definitely am. Should’ve been a therapist instead, goddamn.” 

The blond rolls his eyes. “If you were a therapist, you wouldn’t have met me! Unless there’s therapy olympics or something.” he laughs at the thought. Zayn chuckles, “I will meet you, I’ll meet you because you’ll be one of my patients, or sommin’.”

Niall snorts. “What’s the diagnosis?”

Zayn smirks. “Crazy. For me.”  

Niall actually chokes on air with how hard he’s laughing, the loud guffawing echoing throughout the whole bathroom and making a blush appear on Zayn’s cheeks, laughing a long as well but only a little quieter. And for a moment, everything feels right.

That is until the laughter quietens and Niall finds himself asking the question they were both avoiding.

 

“Zayn, what are we?” Even though they’ve acted so lovey-dovey around each other, there’s always that little tinge of fear of rejection. What if he doesn’t like me back? repeated in their heads continuously. It’s stupid, really. Because ‘like’ clearly wasn’t the feeling that was mutually shared between the two. It was obviously something more.

“Well,” he clears his throat. “I’d like to think we’re, um.. together?” He looks at Niall unsurely, who raised his eyebrow at him. Zayn panicked. “No? No. _No_ , okay. We’re not together.” Then Niall looked sad and Zayn panicked again. “Wait, yes. Yes we are! _Definitely_.” After that, the blond chuckled, shaking his head.

 

“What? Why are you shaking your head?! Is it because of–”

 

Niall curls his hand around the back of Zayn’s neck and pulls him forward, forcing their heads together with quiet slap of their lips and a splash from the water. Zayn doesn’t object, he lets Niall take control. His hands snake around the blond’s waist, giving them a firm squeeze under the water and he smirks just the slightest when he felt a slick push against his tongue, the kiss turning frantic and steamy in a matter of seconds. Niall decided that that was enough kissing for tonight so he gave Zayn one lingering peck before pulling back. “I would love it if you bought me rhinestone ice skates,” Niall then sighs. “But I don’t need a second pair.”

They both burst into a fit of giggles and everything feels right again. They fit together perfectly and Zayn wanted to be nowhere else but here. Niall in his arms and the sound of his laugh spreading warmth through his body.

He felt whole.

—

They headed towards their gate with their hands intertwined, bright camera flashes capturing the moment and even if it was annoying, Niall was thankful. Just like their on-screen kiss when Team GB won the quarterfinals, it spread everywhere. 

 

Even to the boys who lay back in England, relaxing in their game room with drinks in their hands. There was a sudden outburst of (manly) “aww”’s from the other side of the room that caught Louis’ and Liam’s attention. 

They stopped their game of FIFA to give each other curious glances. 

A silence fell and the two lads heard they click of a mouse and another chorus of cooing, the others scattered around the room looking at the crowd of boys (men, they would argue) and wandering bemusedly towards them, making an even bigger crowd. 

“Ehm, lads? What are you, ugh, looking at?” Louis felt kind of awkward being left out, Liam itching the back of his neck and shrugging when Louis shot him another raised brow. 

“Tommo, you’re gonna wanna see this.” Josh laughed loudly, beckoning him over. “You too, Payno.” Andy bounced his eyebrows at the two with a smirk. 

The two got off the bean bag chairs they sat on and hobbled towards the large group, making their way to the front where Stan sat in front of the large computer screen with a look of admiration set on his face. Liam bent down to look at what was on the screen and what he witnessed made him feel all fuzzy. “Awww.”

Louis’ mouth fell open just the slightest, his eyes wide but lips still curled up in amusement. 

There, at the top of the screen, was an article. The title had ‘ **HORAN AND MALIK: OFFICIAL!** ’ at the top and the two brunets immediately had a look of surprise written on their faces. They skimmed through the paragraphs but the collection of pictures at the bottom were what they all wanted to see.

The first few photos were of them heading towards the gate, probably thinking they were alone because one photo was of Niall kissing Zayn on the cheek, on his tippy-toes. The next photo had Louis whistling lowly and Liam laughing. The picture was of Niall with his head leaning on Zayn’s shoulder and it was a normal photo unless your eyes follow where Zayn’s left hand was located. Right on Niall's behind, seemingly getting a handful down there.  

“Well, well, well. Someone’s gettin’ a bit horny.” Liam snorted.

 Louis chuckled. “He’s a completely changed man, I’ll never look at him the same again.”

The following photos after that were all up close and the agitation was evident on their faces, clearly pissed that the paparazzi infiltrated their private time together. 

Liam chortled, "Zayn looks as if he's gonna murder someone." The team nodded and murmured in agreement, Zayn totally would do something like that. Louis was howling with laughter, "Oh my god, there's a video! Click it, click it, _click it._ " Stan pressed play on the small player at the bottom and everyone waited patiently for the video to load.  

It starts blurry at first, the boys can barely make out which one Zayn and Niall are until the camera man wanders to the front. Then the camera steadies, Zayn's voice coming in through the speakers along with the hustle and bustle of boots hitting the floor and questions being shouted at the couple who were trying to get through. 

 _"Can you please fuck off?"_  

Classic Zayn, only he would be able to say 'please' in the same sentence as 'fuck off' and make it sound menacing. 

There wasn't a lot of paps but it was obvious that they weren't used to the attention. Niall was trying his best to ignore it, Zayn trailing behind him so that the blond wouldn't get hurt or anything. The video ended with Zayn's middle finger stuck up in the air, the team sharing amused looks before bursting out laughing. Zayn was quite scary when he was angry. 

—

Once the plane takes flight, Zayn immediately slumps in his seat, sighing and turning to Niall, exhausted. The blond chuckles, lifts the arm rest in between them and pulling Zayn closer. "Tired?" 

The older boy groans, bumps his forehead into Niall's hair. "Very."

"How come? I was the one receiving." The blond giggles, clamping his ear to his shoulder when he feels Zayn's warm breath in his ear. Zayn huffs. "Not the round after you weren't! With the way you screamed I honestly didn't understand how you still had energy after that." 

Niall laughs. "You were tired, I wasn't. I had no choice but to top. D'yu like it?"

"It was lovely, thank you for the anal fissure. My half-unconscious body enjoyed it." Niall slaps his hand over his mouth to keep from cackling, noticing people were asleep. He was red in the face and laughing airily into his sleeve, looking at Zayn with crinkled eyes but with no sound coming out. 

Zayn laughed into his hair before kissing his temple. "I'm going to sleep," The blond sighed, resting his head on the chair. "You can sleep on –" Dark hair came in contact with his cheek and Niall chuckled fondly. "Me." He finishes, resting his head atop Zayn's.

—

"So mum, this is, ugh," Zayn's blushing so hard he's never felt so nervous before, more than Niall, who was smiling widely at the woman, appearing more confident than he was on the inside. "This is Niall. Snowflake, this is my mum. You can call her Trisha." 

Trisha doesn't seem weirded out by the pet name. He lets go of Niall's hand and watches as his mother inspects the blond boy with narrowed eyes, scanning up and down before looking at Zayn with a smile. "He's adorable." 

Niall stomps his foot. "Everyone always says that! I honestly don't get it." Trisha huffs out a laugh, pinches his cheek and winks at Zayn. "I've seen you two all over the news, I'm quite in awe at your relationship and I pretty much know everything," she smiles at Niall, a smile that was similar to Zayn's. "Feel free to stay for food." 

As she leaves the room, Niall notices a pair of bright eyes watch him from around the corner. The girl gives him curious looks that causes Niall to chuckle, he elbows Zayn in the rib. "Who's she?"

Zayn grins when he notices. "Safaa, little sister." He jogs around the corner and grabs the girl from her hiding place, throwing her over his shoulder. "What, I – _Zayn_!!" She squeals, punching his back and ordering him to put her down. Zayn, being the mean big brother he is, just laughs and dumps her on the sofa. "C'mon Safaa, I want you to meet someone."

The eleven-year-old huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. "I know who he is." Zayn smirks, his arm over Niall's shoulders and pulling him close. "Do you now." 

"Who am I then?" Niall laughs, nodding over at Trisha who came into the living room with a tray of sandwiches. 

Safaa rolls her eyes. "You're the guy that sucks Zayn's dick." Trisha drops the tray all over the carpeted floor, Zayn's jaw dropping and Niall's cheeks flushing a bright shade of red. "Waliyha told me." The small girl shrugs. 

 

Everyone gaped.  

Before Niall bursts into cackles as he collapses onto the floor, Zayn and his mother simultaneously calling out Waliyha's name. 

—

"Hey Niall, heard you were embarrassed by an eleven-year-old." Louis grinned widely as the blond steps onto the ice. "I'm guessing the dinner went well?"

"I'm here to see Zayn, not you, you douche." Niall stuck his tongue out at him which caused the older boy to laugh. "Zayn'll be out soon. I just wanted to talk to you, how've you been lately?"

"Great actually." Niall smiles brightly, nodding his head because he feels really, really good. Living with Zayn was amazing and he became even more smitten with the boy each morning they woke up in each other's arms. 

"I never got to fully apologise, you know?" 

Niall shakes his head. "I'm over it. The Olympics tend to give you shit loads of pressure and everyone gets a little competitive so I understand why you wanted me out of the picture. It's okay, Lou." The blond throws his thumb up to prove his happy state. 

Louis smiles before his eyes glint with mischief. "You know, you're not as good at hiding as you think you are." Niall almost slips even though he’s used to being on the ice all the time. “Wh-What?”

Louis smirks. “Zayn wasn’t alone in that ice rink, was he? You were there, you were with him. I saw.” 

Niall flushes. “What d-did you see?” 

“Well at first, it was just my shadow from the light but then I looked down and saw somebody’s fluffy, blond head peeking out from the side of the gate. You’re not very good at hiding, Nialler.”

 

“Snowflake?”

 

Louis and Niall both turn to look at Zayn with supposed smiles but Niall’s just seemed uncomfortable. “Hey Ni, what you doing here?”

“Niall came to see you!” Louis makes a kissy face, skating backwards on his blades, “We were just talking about how great of a hider he is. Weren’t we, Niall?” The blond gulps, flushes because Louis must’ve seen everything in that ice rink after he supposedly left. “Y-Yeah.” he stutters, turns to Zayn with an awkward noise coming from his throat.

“You okay, Niall?” Louis asks but he knows the answer to it already. Zayn stares bewilderedly between the two and cups his boyfriend’s cheek. “Babe, you’re burning up..” Niall squeaks. “I’m fine.”

Zayn nods uncertainly and sighs, “One sec, okay? Talk to you later. Gotta go tell the team something, be right back.” As he leaves Niall almost wants to pull him back because the smirk hasn’t left Louis’ lips. In fact, it looks even bigger.

“Brrr, it's so _cold_.” Louis rubs his arms as the blond’s blush reaches the tips of his ears. “My fingers and feet are _freezing_. I can't feel my _lips_..” He puckers his lips and makes one loud kissing sound before gliding away.

Niall sighs, shaking his head.

Living with Zayn meant being apart of his life, and being apart of his life meant being apart of the team’s.

Niall groans when he realises Louis – and the team – are _never_ gonna live it down. 

 

_Oh well._

 

He smiles when he sees the team not taking Zayn seriously and making inappropriate hand gestures at him as he tries to explain something.

 

_At least Zayn goes down with me._

**Author's Note:**

> how was it? ideka .-.
> 
> briefly proof-read, i'm sorry.


End file.
